Tuesday, March 22, 2011

89% of Consumers "Unaware" that Smartphones Can Transmit Confidential Payment Information


AVG Study Reveals Alarming Complacency Among Users of Mobile Devices on Security

89% of consumers unaware that smartphones transmit confidential information
CTIA WIRELESS 2011

AMSTERDAM & ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AVG Technologies, one of the leading providers of consumer security software, today revealed details of a sobering study uncovering new statistics about the data security risks involved in everyday smartphone use. Findings are the result of a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute in concert with AVG of 734 random US consumers over age 18 regarding their mobile communications behavior. Full survey results are available in an AVG white paper at: http://aa-download.avg.com/filedir/other/Smartphone.pdf
http://www.avg.com“In the last month alone, we’ve seen high profile mobile security lapses with dozens of infected applications being removed from Google’s Android App Store, and such occurrences will only become more frequent without action from the industry and consumers alike.”
The study confirmed AVG’s concerns focusing on consumers’ indifference to the many serious security risks associated with the storage and transmission of sensitive personal data on iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. Following are three of the most alarming:
  • 89 percent of respondents were unaware that smartphone applications can transmit confidential payment information such as credit card details without the user’s knowledge or consent.
  • 91 percent of respondents were unaware that financial applications for smartphones can be infected with specialized malware designed to steal credit card numbers and online banking credentials, yet nearly a third (29 percent) report already storing credit and debit card information on their devices and 35 percent report storing “confidential” work related documents as well.
  • 56 percent of respondents did not know that failing to properly log off from a social network app could allow an imposter to post malicious details or change personal settings without their knowledge. Of those aware, 37 percent were unsure whether or not their profiles had already been manipulated.
Other Smartphone security dangers include geo-tracking based on location data embedded onto image files; the transmission of confidential payment information without the user’s knowledge or consent; and unauthorized (and often unnoticed) premium-service orders on the monthly bill.
"The findings of this study signal what could be an overlooked security risk for organizations created by employees' use of smartphones. Because consumers in our study report that they often use smartphones interchangeably for business and personal, organizations should make sure their security policies include guidelines for the appropriate use of smartphones that are used for company purposes," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute. According to the study, 28 percent of respondents were unaware that using their smartphone for business and personal reasons can put business information at risk.
“We have increasing responsibility to educate consumers on the dangers lurking in mobile broadband and to help users take ownership of their mobile data security,” said J.R. Smith, CEO, AVG Technologies. “The mobile internet does not have to be a risky environment, though the industry must work together to encourage users to take action by downloading low-cost or free anti-virus products specifically designed to protect mobile data.”
He concluded, “In the last month alone, we’ve seen high profile mobile security lapses with dozens of infected applications being removed from Google’s Android App Store, and such occurrences will only become more frequent without action from the industry and consumers alike.”
More than 9 million Android user community members have installed AVG’s free mobile security application, ANTIVIRUSFree, on their handsets to date. Additionally, the company believes that this number will continue to grow as more consumers are made aware of mobile security risks and the simple steps that can be taken to prevent attacks from occurring.
AVG ANTIVIRUSFree enables users to scan, identify and remove viruses, check apps for malware before downloading from app stores and check website content, emails and SMS before downloading data or content. If a device protected with ANTIVIRUSFree is lost or stolen, it can be locked and wiped to protect valuable data, and located quickly using GPS functionality.
About AVG Technologies
www.avg.com
AVG is a global security software maker protecting more than 110 million consumers and small businesses in 170 countries from the ever-growing incidence of Web threats, viruses, spam, cyber-scams and hackers on the Internet. AVG has nearly two decades of experience in combating cyber crime and one of the most advanced laboratories for detecting, pre-empting and combating Web-borne threats from around the world. Its free, downloadable software allows novice users to have basic anti-virus protection and then easily upgrade to greater levels of safety and defense when they are ready. AVG has nearly 6,000 resellers, partners and distributors globally including Amazon.com, CNET, Cisco, Ingram Micro, Play.com, Wal-Mart, and Yahoo!
About the Ponemon Institute
The Ponemon Institute© is dedicated to advancing responsible information and privacy management practices in business and government. To achieve this objective, the Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from the private and public sectors, and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of organizations in a variety of industries.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Bank Details and PIN's Left Behind on Second-Hand Mobiles

YORK, EnglandMarch 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- People are unsuspectingly selling their personal information to complete strangers as a new report from CPP finds half (54%) of second hand mobile phones contain extensive personal data.
Second hand mobile phones and SIM cards purchased on eBay and used electronics shops by life assistance company CPP were examined in a live experiment to see what personal information was available on the handsets and whether it constituted a threat to their former owners' identities.
The experiment revealed 247 pieces of personal data* that had been carelessly left on a range of mobile phones and SIM cards. The personal data included credit and debit card PIN numbers, bank account details, passwords, phone numbers, company information and log in details to social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.  
In research that supported the experiment, half of second hand mobile owners said they have found personal information from a previous owner on mobile phones and SIM cards they have purchased second hand. 
Worryingly, the vast majority (81 per cent) of people claim to have wiped their mobiles before selling them, with six in ten confident they have removed all of their personal information from them.  However, the experiment revealed that 54 per cent of mobile phones and SIM cards contained sensitive personal information putting people at unnecessary risk of identity and card fraud.
The variance could be explained by the fact that most people who claimed to have 'wiped' their handsets tried to erase the data manually – a process that security experts acknowledge leaves the data intact and retrievable.
And it seems personal information comes cheap with individuals selling their old handsets and SIMs for an average price of 47 pounds Sterling.
As people rely heavily on their mobile phones to store personal data such as e-mail addresses, social networking log in details, banks account details and even debit and credit card PIN numbers, CPP is calling on people to make sure they remove all of their personal and financial information from their mobile phones and undertake adequate security measures to protect themselves fromidentity theft.
Mobile data expert from CPP, Danny Harrison said: "This report is a shocking wake up call and shows how mobile phones can inadvertently cause people to be careless with their personal data.  With the rapid technology advancements in the smartphone market and new models released by manufactures multiple times a year, consumers are upgrading their mobiles more than ever and it is imperative people take personal responsibility to properly manage their own data.
"If they do sell or recycle them online or even give them to friends and family, they need to ensure they remove all their personal information thoroughly and consider the serious consequences of not doing so."
Senior Vice President of CRYPTOCard Jason Hart, who was commissioned by CPP to carry out the experiment said: "The safest way to remove all of your data from a mobile phone or SIM card is to totally destroy the SIM and double check to ensure that all content has been removed from your phone before disposal. With new technology does come new risks and our experiment found that newer smartphones have more capabilities to store information and that information is much easier to recover than on traditional mobiles due to the increase of applications."
CPP's top tips on wiping your mobile phone of personal information:
  1. Restore all factory settings – this is the first step that you should take as it is the easiest precaution before disposing of the unit, but factory resets are far from permanent so follow steps 2 – 4 to protect your data
  2. Remove your SIM card and destroy it  
  3. Delete back-ups -  even if your smartphone, PDA or laptop data is securely removed from the mobile device, it can continue to exist on a back up somewhere else
  4. Log out and delete– make sure you have logged out of all social networking sites, emails, wireless connections, company networks and applications.  Once you are logged out make sure you delete the password and connection
  5. Various passwords - avoid using the same ID/password on multiple systems and storing them on your mobile phone, if you are going to store them on your phone use a picture that reminds you of the password
  6. If you are selling on your phone ensure you ask for it to be wiped to be on the safe side
  7. Don't store vast amounts of personal information on your mobile phone / SIM
  8. Make sure you check your bank statements regularly to monitor for suspicious transactions
  9. Remember the Golden Rule: Identity thieves are experts at spotting an opportunity to steal your identity and only need a few personal details
  10. If you want more information on how to protect yourself or see how these experiments worked, please visit CPP's blog

Juniper Research: 1 in 7 Boarding Passes to be Mobile by 2013

Mar 22, 2011 04:57 ET

Airline Market Rebound Spurs Growth in Mobile Tickets as 1 in 7 Boarding Passes to Be Mobile by 2013, Says Juniper Research

HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - March 22, 2011) - One in every seven bar coded boarding passes worldwide will be delivered to passengers' mobile devices within 2 years, according to the latest forecasts from Juniper Research, www.juniperresearch.com. This equates to 480 million mobile boarding passes which is treble the 160 million for last year, as mobile technology and especially smartphones are having a rapidly growing impact on the airline industry.
Following the recently improved industry outlook for airline passenger volumes(1), a new report from Juniper Research has identified significant market progress for mobile tickets from both vendors and crucially airlines. Juniper has detected a marked upswing in corporate activity over the past year amongst vendors addressing this market. 
According to report author Howard Wilcox: "Of the 30 airlines including several flag carriers that we found offering mobile boarding passes, about half also offer mobile ticket booking and purchasing. For the frequent flyer, we believe that using your mobile for booking, passing through security and boarding is a winning offer that will be augmented by adding loyalty, seat selection and flight information all in the single application."
Furthermore, Juniper's new Mobile Ticketing for Transport Markets report also found that mobile ticketing also has growing potential across train travel and in suburban metro systems, which will be boosted by the momentum currently being seen in NFC.
Juniper's new report contains detailed five year forecasting for all the key market parameters including users, transactions and values for airline, rail and metro/bus ticketing. Additionally the report highlights the conclusions from Juniper's analysis of 23 vendors addressing the market, which culminates in a new Transport Mobile Ticketing vendor strategy positioning matrix.
Further key findings from the report include:
  • More than one in ten subscribers will use mobile tickets for air, rail or metro travel worldwide by 2015.
  • Poor user experience is an implementation risk -- such as bar code reading issues.
(1) Source: IATA February 2011
Mobile Ticketing Whitepaper and further details of the study 'Mobile Ticketing for Transport Markets: Airlines, Rail, Metro & Bus 2011-2015' can be downloaded fromwww.juniperresearch.com. Alternatively please contact John Levett atjohn.levett@juniperresearch.com, telephone +44(0)1256 830001.
Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications 

Google Adds Nexus S 4G with NFC


Andy Rubin, writes for the Google Mobile Blog:

Introducing Nexus S 4G for Sprint

Monday, March 21, 2011 | 5:00 AM
Recently, we introduced Nexus S from Google, the first phone to run Android 2.3, Gingerbread. In addition to the UMTS-capable Nexus S, today we’re introducing Nexus S 4G from Google, available for Sprint. Nexus S 4G is part of the Nexus line of devices which provide a pure Google experience and run the latest and greatest Android releases and Google mobile apps. We co-developed Nexus S 4G with Samsung to tightly integrate hardware and software and highlight the advancements of Gingerbread. Nexus S 4G takes advantage of Sprint’s high-speed 4G data network. It features a 4” Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and along the side of your face. It also features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory, and NFC (near field communication) hardware that lets you read information from everyday objects that have NFC tags. In addition, today we’re excited to announce that Sprint customers will soon be able to take advantage of the full set of Google Voice features without changing or porting their number.  You can find more Nexus S information and videos at google.com/nexus or follow@googlenexus on Twitter for the latest updates. Nexus S 4G can be purchased this spring online and in-store from Sprint retailers and Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores in the U.S.


2.5 Billion People Remain "Unbanked"

VRL Financial News: Half of the World’s Adult Population Do Not Have a Bank Account, 2.5 billion People Remain Unbanked

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading provider of market intelligence for the financial services industry, VRL Financial News, will be showcasing exclusive research on the Prepaid market and the views of 35 speakers at its 2nd Annual Prepaid Summit in Dubai on the 22nd and 23rd March. Today just over half of the world’s adult population does not use banks or microfinance to channel, save or borrow money – they still trade in cash. There is a huge opportunity to move this traditional unbanked segment into prepaid cards.
http://www.vrlknowledgebank.comIn the last 12 months, prepaid card usage across the Middle East has continued to grow. The Middle East is a hot spot for travel, youth, online and mobile prepaid products with more than 60 million internet users and over 80 billion mobile phone users. The Prepaid Summit: Middle East 2011 will address the key issues impacting on the take up of prepaid in the region, combining Middle Eastern and international case studies with exclusive research on the market. Today the GCC has the opportunity to develop prepaid, especially with the expatriate communities which comprise of 85 percent of the skilled labour force in the Emirates and 40 percent in Saudi Arabia. The demographics of the region highlight the importance of prepaid cards as it will help expatriates to transfer money to their home countries.
In 2010, more than 150 delegates from 20 counties attended the first Prepaid Summit: Middle East, and this year promises to be even bigger, with a host of high profile speakers including; Bernardo Nicoletti, Global Expert in Prepaid, Altaf Ahmed, Vice President and Head of Payment Services and CRM at Emirates NBD; Randa Bdeir, Head of Electronic Banking & Cards Services, Bank Audi SAL; Scott Salmon, Head of Prepaid Global Market Expansion, Visa and many more insightful speakers from leading financial organisations across the UAE.
Key topics to be covered include:
  • Promoting further prepaid growth through distribution
  • Increasing customer awareness of prepaid
  • The latest innovations in contactless, loyalty schemes and payment channels
  • Using corporate cards for payroll, incentives and bonus payments
  • Building a region-specific business proposition
For more details on VRL events please visit:

Contacts

Cathy O’Neill
C8 Consulting Ltd
01189 001135
cathy@c8consulting.co.uk
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110322006822/en/VRL-Financial-News-World%E2%80%99s-Adult-Population-Bank

Research and Markets: E-Payment Solutions Market in India 2011

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "E-Payment Solutions Market in India 2011" report to their offering.
Need for an efficient online payment option to drive E-Payment Solutions market, finds Netscribes
Netscribes (India) Pvt. Ltd., launches E-Payments Solution Market in India 2011 report covering a market which is growing rapidly. It is a part of Netscribes' Business Service Series reports.
http://www.researchandmarkets.comMumbai, India - March 11, 2011 - Netscribes (India) Pvt. Ltd., a knowledge consulting solutions company, announces the launch of its report E-Payments Solution Market in India 2011. The market for e-payments in India is growing rapidly owing to increasing number of transactions through credit and debit cards by the earning young population. The business segment in the country is providing a fillip to this mechanism and is dominating the entire payments market currently. Growth in the middle-class and an increasingly organized retail industry will boost the consumer electronic transactions across segments. With a rise in electronification, the demand for efficient and time saving activities like e-payment tools will become the need of the hour.
The report begins with the market overview section depicting the size and growth figures of the total payments market in India along with the segmentation of electronic transactions in the retail industry on the basis of types of e-payment solutions. It further elaborates the various modes of e-payment. It also gives an insight into method of operation of the card system in India. An analysis of the drivers further highlights the factors contributing to the growth of the market including growth in e-commerce, saving cost on printing notes, increasing internet penetration and PC users and ease of transaction. The key challenges identified encompass secure payment concern and lack of awareness & low service quality. Key trends in the market have also been analyzed including increasing use by the government, mobiles emerging as an important channel for payments and e-payments becoming a preferred mode of payment.
The competition section provides an overview of the competitive landscape of the market. It includes a brief corporate description of the major players in the market along with their offered facilities and pricing strategies. Key developments section has also been added which highlights the latest developments in the sector over a period of one year.
Key Topics Covered:
  • Page 1: Executive Summary Market Overview
  • Page 2: Payment Market - Overview, Size & Growth (2008-2015e), Segmentation - Retail Electronic Payments (April 2010)
  • Page 3: Mobile and Online Payments - Overview, Size & Growth (2008-2015e); Internet and E-commerce - Overview, Size & Growth (2008-2015e)
  • Page 4: Working of the Card System Drivers & Challenges
  • Page 5: Summary
  • Page 6-9: Drivers
  • Page 10-11: Challenges Trends
  • Page 12: Summary
  • Page 13-16: Key Trends Competition
  • Page 17-25: Major Players in the Market Key Developments
  • Page 26: Key Developments

Contacts

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110322006491/en/Research-Markets-E-Payment-Solutions-Market-India-2011

Scotiabank Rides 'Wave' of Convenient Payments with Visa payWave

Scotiabank cardholders can now pay securely for on-the-go purchases with Visa payWave
TORONTOMarch 22 /PRNewswire/ - Scotiabank is inviting Visa cardholders to 'wave and go' when making everyday purchases by adding Visa payWave™, a contactless payment feature, to its line of credit cards. Visa payWave transactions make small purchases faster and easier, reducing the amount of time customers spend at the checkout. Visa payWave is a no-fee enhancement which is now available on select Scotiabank credit cards, including ScotiaGold Passport Visa, Scotia Momentum Visa and SCENE Visa.
With Visa payWave, cardholders no longer need to look for change, key in a PIN or sign receipts for small everyday purchases at participating Canadian merchants. Visa payWave cardholders can simply wave their card in front of a merchant terminal with the universal contactless symbol and they are on their way. Scotiabank cardholders will now be able to make secure contactless transactions at Petro-Canada, Rexall Pharma Plus pharmacies, Cineplex Entertainment movie theatres, Jean Coutu, Rabba Fine Foods, M&M Meat Shops, Second Cup, as well as other retailers.
"At Scotiabank, we are committed to providing our customers with new ways to simplify their everyday banking and shopping experience," said Gillian Riley, Senior Vice-President and Head, Retail Payments, Deposits and Lending, Scotiabank. "Whether it's introducing Visa payWave in order to facilitate faster transactions or providing our customers with mobile banking so they can bank on-the-go, at Scotiabank we are continuing to provide innovative services that will help Canadians in their busy lifestyles."
"Visa payWave is changing the way people pay, and paving the way for new technologies to come," said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada.  "It's convenient, secure, and as always, Scotiabank cardholders are protected by Visa's layers of security, including Zero Liability."
For more information, visit www.scotiabank.com/paywave.
For more information about Visa's Zero Liability Policy, visit www.visa.ca.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $541 billion (as at January 31, 2011), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.
About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

Enhanced by Zemanta

First Data Introduces Mobile Voucher Technology for Merchants

MVoucher to Help Deliver Targeted Offers to Ever-More-Mobile Consumers

CTIA WIRELESS 2011
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today introduced mobile vouchers (mVoucher) for merchants looking to extend their brand and commerce services to their ever-more-mobile customers. First Data mVoucher enables merchants to deliver offers to consumers through e-mail or their mobile device.
http://www.firstdata.com
“Leveraging the convenience of a consumer’s mobile phone, merchants can drive loyalty, brand affinity and simplify the transaction process through this new product capability. MVoucher is a simple to use mobile solution that utilizes a retailer’s existing gift card infrastructure and helps them exploit the opportunities of mobile commerce”
Sometimes referred to as coupons, mVouchers store a prepaid value funded by the merchant or consumer product goods company. Mobile vouchers can be delivered as coupons, loyalty rewards, promotional rewards, contest rewards or general marketing initiatives. The virtual offer can then be used for redemption online or in-store through a mobile device as an SMS (short message service) or 2-D barcode, and ultimately through contactless exchange such as Near Field Communication (NFC).
With major merchants already signed and using mVoucher, First Data is helping its customers take advantage of this latest trend in loyalty and personalized marketing program development.
“Innovations in mobile services and applications have catalyzed the consumer adoption of sending real-life gifts and buying daily deals in real time from a mobile device. As people continue to embrace this mobile lifestyle, First Data mVoucher will enable merchants to instantly deliver targeted offers to their most loyal customers even while they are in the middle of shopping as well as drive more foot traffic through their doors,” said Dom Morea, SVP and division manager, Advanced Solutions and Innovation, First Data.
How mVouchers Work
The consumer requests or receives a mobile voucher either through a banner ad, short code, loyalty program or as a special promotion. The mVoucher system also provides the merchant with an optional registration process to allow their customers to opt-in to receive additional virtual offers through e-mail or SMS. The consumer then visits the merchant location where the cashier enters the 16-digit code or scans the barcode at the point-of-sale (POS) terminal. With the future of mobile commerce in mind, mVouchers are also designed to support NFC-based redemption between a mobile device and the merchant point of sale as this technology is broadly deployed.
In addition, the mVoucher program includes an optional registration feature on a mobile web or App Gift Card Portal for the consumer to manage their saved offer and accept more incentives from the merchant. Included is the ability to reload funds, check balance and transaction information, locate the nearest physical store location and purchase additional mVouchers to send to others.
As part of the mVoucher launch, First Data and CardinalCommerce collaborated on the development of a mobile commerce platform to provide an integration-free solution for merchants to deliver mVouchers. Redemption of mVouchers can take place through an existing relationship with First Data and a merchant’s POS system or the internet checkout process, which allows for detailed reporting from request to delivery to redemption.
“Leveraging the convenience of a consumer’s mobile phone, merchants can drive loyalty, brand affinity and simplify the transaction process through this new product capability. MVoucher is a simple to use mobile solution that utilizes a retailer’s existing gift card infrastructure and helps them exploit the opportunities of mobile commerce,” said Tim Sherwin, EVP and co-owner of CardinalCommerce Corporation.
Around the world, every second of every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. First Data leverages its vast product portfolio and expertise to drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the choice of payment is by debit or credit card, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the checkout counter, First Data takes every opportunity to go beyond the transaction.

Contacts

First Data
Elizabeth Grice, 303-967-8526
elizabeth.grice@firstdata.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110322005309/en/Data-Introduces-Mobile-Voucher-Technology-Merchants

MasterCard and Visa Break Through Stock Price Resistance Levels

MasterCardImage via Wikipedia
Zacks.com - 15 hours ago
Mar 21, 2011 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- SmarTrend has detected shares of MasterCard (NYSE:MA) have bullishly opened above the pivot of $243.11 today and have reached the first resistance level of $244.83. We are watching for a cross of the ...

Market Intelligence Center - 17 hours ago

Visa Inc (NYSE: V) closed Friday's trading session at $71.42. In the past year, the stock has hit a 52-week low of $64.90 and 52-week high of $97.19. Visa stock has been showing support around $70.27 and resistance in the $72.71 range. ...



Enhanced by Zemanta

Disqus for ePayment News